The Louisiana Department of Education has recently announced that the number of graduates entering college between college each fall has increased 15 percent between 2012 and 2017. As stated on the website, “The results announced today follow the release of the statewide graduation results for the Class of 2017.
Those results showed a jump in the overall graduation rate, as well as in the rate at which students earn early-college credit or state-approved industry-valued career credentials, the number of graduates qualifying for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students scholarship, and the number of seniors completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.”
For more information on this exciting news for Louisiana, please click here.
According to the Louisiana Department of Education, who is partnering with John Hopkins University, announced “the launch of the Louisiana High School Redesign Cohort, a network of 31 high schools across the state that will work together to rethink the core components of their high school design.”
“The redesign cohort, which involves alternative, charter and traditional public schools from both urban and rural school systems, will provide an opportunity for select high schools to collaborate with their peers and national experts on how to reimagine both school structure and services to boost positive student outcomes and prepare graduates for college and career.”
Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education will help guide the cohort. The School, through its Everyone Graduates Center and Talent Development Secondary initiative, has spent 22 years working with schools across the nation to focus their redesign plans on examining and rebuilding four key structures. Those structures, which are supported by extensive research, include:
Instructional quality. Schools must use the highest quality curricula available, and teachers must be trained on the implementation of this curricula. In addition, high schools need to develop the appropriate remediation structures to support students who are academically behind.
Postsecondary pathways. Schools must provide students with various avenues toward graduation, including Jump Start pathways, dual enrollment and IB, AP and/or CLEP offerings, in order to support the diverse needs of students.
Student supports. Students must have access to academic counseling that helps them plot their path to graduation and beyond. Students need support with college applications, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, job interviews and internship opportunities.
Organizing adults to maximize impact. Adults must be organized in a way that allows for them to have responsibility for a common set of students and must have time to collaborate and plan for the needs of those students.
For more information on this partnership and to read the full article, click here.
As stated on the Louisiana Department of Education website on April 24th, 2018, “more than 700 teachers across the state have been selected to serve as Content Leaders and provide high-quality, content-rich and curriculum-specific professional development to new and current teachers in their school systems. The selected teachers will participate in special training during the 2018-2019 school year that prepares them for this responsibility and culminates in a professional distinction, as well as career advancement opportunities.”
The training will begin in summer 2018 and continue through the 2018-2019 school year. The training will include nine in-person sessions–half of which will occur during the summer months to reduce time spent outside the classroom–and will be held in various locations across Louisiana. Participants will receive:
A deeper knowledge of English Language Arts (ELA) or math content and how to teach it;
The knowledge and skills they need to effectively use and help others use the ELA Guidebooks 2.0, a nationally recognized curriculumcreated for Louisiana teachers by Louisiana teachers, or a top-tier mathematics curriculum;
The knowledge of adult learning theory, and the skills and resources to facilitate meaningful, productive learning experiences for fellow educators; and
Access to 36 additional hours of turnkey training sessions outside of the program.
For more information on the training the teachers will receive, click here.
The Louisiana Department of Education released some great news this month when they stated their plans to “expand its Jump Start Summers initiative, allowing nearly 2,000 high school students the opportunity to earn academic credit, engage in workplace-based learning and attain critical industry-based credentials, all while earning a wage, during the upcoming summer months. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) on Wednesday will vote to approve 46 new program providers across the state.”
“Workplace-based learning provides an unparalleled opportunity for students to master essential workplace behaviors and communication skills, while making their academic schoolwork more relevant,” said State Superintendent John White. “This is true for all students–those who are university-bound, as well as those who are career-focused.”
For more information on the Jump Start Summers Initiative, click here.
In an article recently released by news station, WGNO, Edward Douglas White Catholic High School in Thibodeaux, LA is now adding a life skills class to their curriculum for seniors for an entire semester. As stated in the article, “These students are learning all about budgeting, writing checks, and overall how to be responsible with their future finances. “With like banking and taxes and stuff, there is a lot of extra stuff I have never considered,” says Philip Caldwell, a senior at E.D. White Catholic High School. The trend, is that these millennial are ready to strip that negative title, and basically kick some butt in life. They’re even learning how to jump start a car and how to change a flat tire.”
For more information on the new curriculum that has been added and to read the full article, click here.
The Louisiana Department of Education released this article on April 10 stating that the number of Louisiana graduates receiving the academic TOPS scholarship is at an all-time high. The award, also known as Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), has been awarded to more than 19,200 graduates in the Class of 2017, up from 18,373 in 2016 and 16,289 in 2012.
According to the Louisiana Department of Education, TOPS is a program of state scholarships for Louisiana residents who attend either one of the Louisiana public colleges and universities, schools that are a part of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, Louisiana-approved proprietary and cosmetology schools, or institutions that are a part of the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. There are four levels of TOPS awards, based on students’ American College Test (ACT) scores, grade-point averages and post-secondary pursuits. Those levels include Honors, Performance, Opportunity and Tech.
For more information on the TOPS increase in 2017, click here.
